Steve Earle & The Dukes Announce New Live Dates; Premiere New Video

Courtesy: New West Records

Steve Earle & The Dukes are heading back out on tour.

The group made the announcement Thursday through a news release. According to information in the document, the tour is scheduled to launch July 1 in New Braunfels, TX and to run through Sept. 4 in Beaver Dam, KY. The tour also includes stops in cities, such as Asheville, NC; Omaha, NE and Clearwater, FL.

Steve Earle & The Dukes’ latest tour run is in support of tis latest record, J.T., which is a compilation of songs recorded by Earle’s late son, Justin Townes Earle. The 11-song record was released in January through New West Records. The compilation is available to purchase, stream and download here.

The group’s tour schedule is noted below.

Tour Dates:

Thursday July 1^st – Gruene Hall – New Braunfels, TX

Friday July 2^nd – Billy Bob’s – Forth Worth, TX

Saturday July 3^rd – Barge 295 – Seabrook, TX

Sunday July 4^th – The Bluff – Natchez, MS

Tuesday July 6^th – Lafyette’s Music Room – Memphis, TN

Thursday July 8^th – The Waiting Room – Omaha, NE

Friday July 9^th – Knuckleheads – Kansas City, MO

Saturday July 10^th – Riverside Park Amphitheater – Jefferson City, MO

Sunday July 11^th – The Pageant – St. Louis, MO

Thursday July 15^th – Mountain Arts Center – Prestonsburg, KY

Friday July 16^th – The Burl – Lexington, KY

Saturday July 17^th – Rams Head on Stage – Annapolis, MD

Sunday July 18^th – The Pavilion at Point of the Bluff Vineyard – Hammondsport, NY

Tuesday July 20^th – The Birchmere – Alexandria, VA

Wednesday July 21^st – The Birchmere – Alexandria, VA

Friday July 23^rd – The Paramount Theatre – Rutland, VT

Saturday July 24^th – Marty’s Driving Range – Mason, NH

Sunday July 25^th – Scranton Circle Drive-In Theater – Scranton, PA

Tuesday July 27^th – Stephen Talkhouse – Amagansett, NY

Thursday July 29^th – Sellersville Theater – Sellersville, PA

Friday July 30^th – The Kent Stage – Kent, OH

Saturday July 31^st – Riverfront Live – Cincinnati, OH

Sunday August 1^st – Mountain Stage – Charleston, WV

Friday August 6^th – Big Top Chautauqua – Bayfield, WI

Saturday August 7^th – Canterbury Park Summer Concert Series – Shakopee, MN

Tuesday August 17^th – The Kessler – Dallas, TX

Friday August 20^th – Ponte Vedra Concert Hall – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

Saturday August 21^st – Amaturo Theatre – Fort Lauderdale, FL

Sunday August 22^nd – Capitol Theatre – Clearwater, FL

Tuesday August 24^th – Montgomery Performing Arts Centre – Montgomery, AL (With Los Lobos)

Thursday August 26^th – The Freeman Stage at Bayside – Selbyville, DE (With Los Lobos)

Friday August 27^th – Inssbrook After Hours – Glen Allen, VA (With Los Lobos)

Saturday August 28^th – Atlanta Botanical Garden – Atlanta, GA (With Los Lobos)

Monday August 30^th – Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN (With Los Lobos)

Thursday September 2^nd – Newberry Opera House – Newberry, SC

Friday September 3^rd – Salvage Station – Asheville, NC (With Los Lobos)

Saturday September 4^th – Beaver Dam Amphitheatre – Beaver Dam, KY (With Los Lobos)

Saturday October 16^th – Brooklyn Made – Brooklyn, NY (Steve Earle Solo)

Friday October 22^nd – Stoughton Opera House – Stoughton, WI (Steve Earle Solo)

Saturday October 23^rd – Stoughton Opera House – Stoughton, WI (Steve Earle Solo)

In other news, Steve Earle and his band mates premiered a live clip of the compilation’s latest single, ‘The Saint of Lost Causes‘ Thursday.

More information on Steve Earle & The Dukes’ upcoming tour dates is available along with all of the group’s latest news and more from Steve Earle & The Dukes at:

Website: https://www.steveearle.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SteveEarleMusic

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SteveEarle

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to https://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.  

Steve Earle’s New Compilation Record Is A Wonderful Musical Tribute To His Late Son

Courtesy: New West Records

Steve Earle is apparently not the type to rest easy on his laurels.  The veteran singer-songwriter, who has been making music for more than three decades (almost four decades to be precise), has released 18 albums since his debut album Guitar Town in 1986.  Now less than a year after the release of his 18^th album – Ghosts of West Virginia (2020) – Earle returned with his now 19^th album Jan. 4 in the form of the simply titled J.T. The 11-song album, which is a tribute to his late son Justin Townes Earle, was features 10 covers of his son’s work and one new song.  It was originally scheduled for release Nov. 19, 2020, but was pushed back to this month.  The younger Earle died Aug. 20 in his Nashville, TN home from an accidental drug overdose.  The record is a wonderful tribute to his late son thanks in part to its featured collection of songs.  The one new song added to the record adds its own touch to the whole.  It will be discussed a little later.  The record’s overall sequencing rounds out its most important elements and will also be addressed later.  Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the compilation.  All things considered, fans of father and son alike will appreciate this tribute to the younger Earle.

Steve Earle’s musical tribute to his late son Justin Townes Earle is a presentation that fans of the elder and younger Earle alike will appreciate.  That is proven in part through the record’s featured songs.  Save for just one song, the album’s featured songs are covers of works crafted by Earle’s son.  Audiences will find the songs important in that they represent a wide swath of the younger Earle’s catalog.  The compilation reaches all the way back to Earle’s debut 2007 EP Yuma with a cover of ‘I Don’t Care’ and all the way up to 2019’s The Saint of Lost Causes with that album’s title track.  The Good Life (2008) gets the most nods, with four songs from that album featured here.  The compilation is not necessarily a full career-defining presentation, though.  Audiences will note that Steve Earle ignored two of the three albums in his son’s “family trilogy” here, Single Mothers (2014) and Absent Fathers (2015).  Whether that was intentional – and if so why – is anyone’s guess.  Regardless, audiences still get a relatively rich picture of the younger Earle’s catalog, which means this compilation serves as a strong introduction to his body of work for those who are less familiar with his work.  For those who are more familiar with Justin’s work, those audiences will agree that its wide range of songs serves as a fitting posthumous birthday gift to Steve’s son.  Keeping all of this in mind, the songs featured in this record build a strong foundation for the compilation.  They are just one part of what makes the record appealing.  The one new song that Steve Earle added to the record adds its own touch to the whole of the presentation.

‘Last Words,’ which closes out J.T. is the one new original composition added to the record.  It is fitting that the song is the record’s closer.  That is because it is in a sense, a kind of musical eulogy to Steve’s late son.  He points out in the heart wrenchingly beautiful composition’s chorus that “The last thing you said to me/Was I love you, too.”  He additionally looks back, telling his son he wished he could have been there in his son’s final moments.  The gritty sound in Earle’s vocal delivery still illustrates so well, the emotional pain that Earle still felt as he wrote the song’s lyrics.  The simple instrumentation and the delivery thereof makes the song, which barely tops the four minute mark, feel so much longer, but in a good way in this case.  Anyone who is left dry-eyed after hearing this song is either not human or just cold to others’ emotions.  It is a powerful, fitting finale for this musical tribute to Steve’s son and just one more way in which the compilation shows its strength.  Staying on that note, it plays into one more important notable aspect, the record’s sequencing.

The sequencing of Steve Earle & The Dukes’ new album brings everything in the album full circle, completing the presentation’s picture.  The record starts off on an upbeat note in ‘I Don’t Care’ but gradually pulls back in its energy, reaching its first trough in ‘Far Away in Another Town.’  From there, the album moves back in an upswing in ‘They Killed John Henry’ before pulling back again for another pair of songs.  ‘Champagne Corolla’ lifts listeners right back up again, making sure the more reserved energy doesn’t last but so long.  The last trio of songs finds the album’s energy falling, rising, and falling one last time, keeping things interesting.  Looking at the bigger picture here, the overall sequencing of Steve Earle’s new musical tribute to his son ensures that its energy rises and falls at all of the right moments, in turn keeping listeners engaged and entertained through this aspect just as much as the record’s songs.  All things considered, the record, while being in large part a compilation, is still a compilation that is actually worth hearing.

Steve Earle & The Dukes’ new compilation record J.T. is a presentation that audiences new and established alike will enjoy.  That is thanks in part to the compilation’s featured songs, which paint a rich picture of the catalog of Steve’s late son Justin.  Only two of Justin’s eight albums are omitted in this presentation.  Even his debut 2007 EP is represented here among it all.  It is a fitting tribute in its own right to all that Justin did prior to his untimely passing last year.  The one new song crafted by Steve is its own powerful musical eulogy to his late son and will move any listener.  The sequencing of all of the noted content puts the finishing touch to the record, ensuring listeners’ engagement and entertainment even more.  It brings everything full circle, making sure the energy in the featured songs keep listeners entertained and engaged.  Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the record.  All things considered, they make J.T. a moving tribute to Steve Earle’s son that fans of father and son alike will appreciate.  J.T. is available now.

More information on J.T. is available along with all of the latest news and more from Steve Earle & The Dukes at:

Website: http://www.steveearle.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SteveEarleMusic

Twitter: http://twitter.com/SteveEarle

To keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment reviews and news in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.  

Veterans, Newcomers Among Those In Phil’s Picks 2020 Top 10 New Country/Bluegrass/Folk/Americana Albums

Courtesy: Mercury Nashville

Country music, bluegrass, folk, and Americana fans have had a lot to be happy bout in 2020.  That is because the genres, which are so closely related to one another, have seen a lot of enjoyable new albums released.  Bluegrass fans saw Steep Canyon Rangers release its new album Arm in Arm.  The country music world saw Chris Stapleton’s new album Starting Over, which is some of his best work to date in his still young career.  Steve Earle and his fellow musicians The Dukes released a new album that audiences can easily put into the Americana category while the folk world while Delta Rae’s new album The Light can just as easily be added to the folk/neo-folk category just as much as the Americana category.  All three albums are featured in this year’s Phil’s Picks 2020 Top 10 New Country/Bluegrass/Folk/Americana Albums list along with lots of others, including Chatham County Line’s new album Strange Fascination and the recently released independent band Royal Horses’ new album A Modern Man’s Way To Improve.  That album crosses the border of country, bluegrass and Americana. 

As with each year’s past lists, this year features the year’s Top 10 best new albums from the noted genres along with five additional honorable mentions for a total of 15 albums.  Without any further ado, here is PHIL’S PICKS 2020 TOP 10 NEW COUNTRY/BLUEGRASS/FOLK/AMERICANA ALBUMS.

PHIL’S PICKS 2020 TOP 10 NEW COUNTRY/BLUEGRASS/FOLK/AMERICANA ALBUMS

1. Chris Stapleton – Starting Over
2. The Okee Dokee Brothers – Songs For Singin’
3. Josh Turner – Country State of Mind
4. Delta Rae – The Light
5. Reckless Kelly – American Girls/American Jackpot
6. Steve Earle & The Dukes – The Ghosts of West Virginia
7. Chatham County Line – Strange Fascination
8. Jack The Radio – Creatures
9. Royal Horses – A Modern Man’s Way To Improve
10. Steep Canyon Rangers – Arm in Arm
11. Brothers Osborne – Skeletons
12. Bruce Springsteen – Letter To You
13. Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit – Reunions
14. Mile Twelve – Roll The Tapes All Night Long
15. Special Consensus – Chicago Barn Dance

Next up from Phil’s Picks is 2020’s Top 10 New Rap & Hip-Hop Albums.  Stay tuned for that. 

To keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews, go online to http://www.facebook.com/philspicks and “Like” it.  Fans can always keep up with the latest entertainment news and reviews in the Phil’s Picks blog at https://philspicks.wordpress.com.